University of Michigan Library Head, in New Blog, Defends Google Deal

Andrew Albanese & Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/12/2007

University of Michigan (UM) dean of libraries Paul Courant, in his new blog, Au Courant, addresses some of critics of Google's library scan plan. "I'm puzzled when people ask," Courant wrote in a post headlined "On being in bed with Google," "'How could serious libraries be doing this? How could they abdicate their responsibilities as custodians of the world's knowledge by offering their collections up as a sacrifice on the altar of corporate power? Why don't they join the virtuous ranks of the Open Content Alliance partners, who pay thousands of dollars to digitize books at a rate of tens of thousands of volumes a year?' It seems like those who ask such questions have little appreciation of what Michigan and the other Google partners are actually up to."

Google's project, unlike competing ones, will be able to scan more than seven million volumes from UM libraries in six years. "As part of our arrangement with Google, they give us copies of all the digital files, and we can keep them forever," he wrote. "Our only financial outlay is for storage and the cost of providing library services to our users. Anyone who searches U-M's library catalog Mirlyn can access the scanned files via our MBooks interface. That's right, anyone."

"Google is not the only entity controlling access to the collection—the University of Michigan and other partner libraries control access as well," Courant wrote. "Except we don't think of it as controlling access so much as providing it." However, commented Paul Duguid of the University of California, Berkeley's School of Information in response, "It is surely not conspiracy theory to believe it more likely that, for example, Michigan students will transfer (have transferred) their allegiance from the Michigan catalogue to Google Book Search than the other way around. Ease tends to trump all other concerns in search. Consequently, whatever Michigan or other partner libraries do with regard to quality, they are in danger of being swamped by Google. All Courant's thoroughly persuasive arguments and all the admirable work of its librarians will be undercut if Google book search becomes the primary portal of access, for with regard to books Google's elegantly simple search can be as misleading and worrying as it is seductive."

Courant acknowledges the arguments of Google's critics, including the Open Content Alliance's Brewster Kahle, Siva Vaidhyanathan, and others who take issue with the quality of Google scans, such as the American Historical Association. Courant said he'd discuss quality issues in a future post, but in general sees the criticisms as an indictment of the inability of libraries and other partners to accomplish what Google is pursuing. He'd prefer that a charitable foundation supported this work, but, he wrote, "In the meantime, it seems to me that being in bed with Google is way better than sleeping alone." 

The dialogue has continued, with Vaidhyanathan posing further concerns, and Courant responding.